Murray confident with Quick

It was clear, from the start of today’s practice, that Jonathan Quick would reclaim his spot as the Kings’ No. 1 goalie. Quick got one net to himself in practice, while Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Bernier split time in the other net. Both Quick and Terry Murray made it clear that they believe Quick is ready for game action. Here’s what Murray said today about his goalie situation…

Question: Is Quick ready to go?

MURRAY: “Yes he is. He’s ready to go, and he will go.”

Question: Is there any concern there at all? He’s had a whirlwind last couple of days. I’m sure you talked to him this morning…

MURRAY: “Yeah, I did. We had a meeting. Most of us have gone through the same scenario, so we can identify with it. But he’s fine. His wife and child are still in the hospital, so he got home last night at a good hour and had a real good night’s rest. He’s getting food, and there’s lots of support with families on the team here, for anything that he needs. He’s organized and ready to get going.”

Also, as he did in the immediate aftermath of the game, Murray had strong praise for Bernier…

MURRAY: “Goaltending is the key to your organization, and we have, as we saw last night, a young guy playing in the American Hockey League that’s really getting his game in order and becoming a premier guy, certainly a premier guy in the American Hockey League. That’s part of the process that he has to go through in order to get his time in the National Hockey League. It’s moving along very quickly.”

Question: How has he progressed since you saw him in training camp?

MURRAY: “That’s a difficult question to answer, because the circumstances are so different. I really liked his game in training camp, and I even go back to the development camp. He came in in great physical condition and with his mental approach. He was very prepared, emotionally, for the development camp and then brought it all together, at a very high level, in the training camp and played extremely well.

“I guess, when you look at the game last night, what impresses you is that it’s his first time to play this year, coming in the night before and all of the stuff surrounding that, and he settles in and plays very well. Emotionally, he was very consistent in his game. I really liked his handling of the puck, playing the puck, no rebounds, absorbed everything. He just had a superb game. … He’s really a solid guy. He’s square. His fundamentals are terrific around the net, and that’s the foundation that you have to have in order to be a successful player in this league.”